


sound the bells

by swallows (toska)



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Character Study, Crestless!Sylvain, Family Dynamics, Gen, my brain: 24/7 sylvain hours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:34:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23239261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toska/pseuds/swallows
Summary: --crestless!sylvain au. on growing up, knowing the burdens of a heir and crestless heir alike.It starts at a young age.He doesn’t want to disappoint his father or hurt his brother.It turns out he’s already done both.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	sound the bells

**Author's Note:**

> dedicated to: jin thanks for showing me this and sending me spiraling for a week and throw this at u in discord
> 
> also to twitter user@ vwyn19 for coming up w the original concept and art!! bro ur mind is *chef's kiss* ty for my life

It starts at a young age. 

He doesn’t want to disappoint his father or hurt his brother. 

It turns out he’s already done both. 

The technology wasn’t there for Miklan, but it’s there for him. This is his choice. He wants this because it’s duty. It’s what father wants. It’s what the house needs. It means that one day he can reinstate Miklan. It means he can protect. The only problem is that Miklan hates him, and won’t stop hating him until he’s so low in stature that he’s six feet in a grave. 

So when his father suggests blood reconstruction surgery, it’s not a suggestion, Sylvain agrees. 

Sylvain isn’t ashamed of not being born without a crest, unlike Miklan who flinches at the very word. Father says that’s what makes Miklan weak. Father says a lot of things, and Miklan has learned to chew them up and spit them right back at Sylvain’s face. 

Sylvain doesn’t flinch though. Not anymore.

 _It’s the gift of the goddess that turned Sylvain’s hair white_ , his father boasts. Miracle child with a miracle crest. _Of course it’s natural, the goddess wouldn’t be so cruel to give him two crestless sons_. 

Sylvain doesn’t know about the goddess’s cruelty, but he does know his father’s. He’s not a bad man, when he loves his kingdom, lineage and family-- _name_. Gautier carries a legacy and a love for a King. It doesn’t have room for crestless sons or a childbearing wife who gives crestless sons. His father loves his family line and just wants to preserve it, wants to pass it down, wants to stay close to the King. They made promises together. 

Sylvain understands this much, nine years old and curling pinkies with Felix under a great oak tree— the week that Glenn was sent off to do training for his newly appointed position. Felix was a wreck, lips wobbling and eyes wide and teary. 

“We’ll stick together until death do us part. I’m not gonna leave you.” 

“Promise?” 

“Promise.”

It was only a week later that Sylvain was thrown into a well for days. Miklan angry upon their arrival, angry that he had to stay home as an embarrassment, as a dirty secret, while Sylvain got to be the envoy.

“Let’s see if anyone recognizes that mop of white hair under all that mud, brother.” Miklan sneers. “You’re such a freak.”

That’s the last Sylvain hears of his brother. Banished and forgotten. When Sylvain asks to see him, his father acts like he doesn’t hear, aside from telling him not to mention the event to anyone. 

He writes his letter back, it’s a tear stained mess from both Ingrid and Felix asking about his health, reassuring them he’s fine. Nothing more than an unfortunate accident, Miklan’s name goes unsaid. 

It’s easy to play the dutiful son, and play with words. Words are easy. People are easy, as long as they aren’t your family. There is control there. You can be anyone you want, but when all you want is to be absolutely no one— you have to get creative in finding ways to sullying your reputation. 

His father still sets him aside and reminds him of his duties. Rides with him across the Gautier lands, and then turns to him. His father’s gaze never left his hair-- the procedure took the Gautier blood that ran through the very roots of his hair and wiped it clean-- _I’m proud of you for surviving_ , his father would say, _but show me you are worth living._

The blood reconstruction surgery didn’t make it easy, his father would push. He used to be a lot healthier before the surgery, but Sylvain doesn’t remember. Physical rehabilitation and combat training was endless, riding lessons as well. He looks to magic as well. Less physically strenuous. _Miklan wasn’t this weak_ , one of his father’s men whispers after witnessing Sylvain’s first training. He was nudged and hushed, the soldiers taking furtive glances back at him, to which he returns an easy smile.

They’re right. While Sylvain has always been able to put in low effort, it has been his brother growing up training with these men, studying with these men, commanding these men as brothers. Some of the guards even left with him, scoffing at the white of Sylvan’s hair, lightness of his wrists and the weakness of his vision.

But it’s the very same white hair and hands that catch the attention of girls. It's the same brown eyes that ensnare them, too. The older he gets, the more girls approach, their hearts unfolding with love. It’s a delicate vulnerable little thing to hold in your hands, but he doesn’t pay that fact any mind. The heart is the size of their fists, small enough to fit into the palm of his hand-- it doesn’t take much to crush it. He leaves torn up petals in their wake, feigning false modesty to the tears in their eyes, the heartache in their faces. Would they really like him if they knew he was nothing more than a hoax? What guarantee is there his child will be born with a crest anyways?

He doesn’t like the girls, but he dates them anyways. His father sends him disapproving glances, his mother feigns ignorance, and he carries on. The serial dating is the closest thing there is to freedom. He’s a young man after all, expected to settle down and provide a proper heir eventually. What’s wrong with sowing a few wild oats? 

As a child, he didn’t want to disappoint his father or hurt his brother. 

He doesn’t feel guilty about it anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> I HAVE 3000 THOUGHTS but my heart is beating so fast my brain cant think...but what is it like having the burdens of both a crestless child and of being a heir!!! i was debating on whether or not he would still be a womanizer, but i think he might be more callous with other people in terms of romance bc like...he doesn't really have a crest! not originally!! this is just all such a farce!! angry about it all, and it's just a destructive way of assuming control in his life 
> 
> i know things come to him naturally, but bc he is weakened from the surgery i think it takes a while to be kinda physically on par?? i do think he grows into being a dark knight eventually.. also thinking about how stat wise!! he is bad at archery (jin voice) HE CANT SEE!! he refuses to get glasses partly bc of vanity and partly so he won't show weakness and just scrapes by w context clues and familiarizing himself w things...he isn't good at seeing far off into the distance 
> 
> there is a possibility of a sequel coming your way!! brain thinking about it
> 
> hope u all enjoyed!!


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